Can your 2.9 year old recognise all letters, numbers etc??

Shoudl I be worried that DD1 (PFB) doesn't know all her letters, and although she can count to 20, doesn't recognise numbers yet??All around me competitive friends who have chidlren of similar ages are proudly shouting about all the counting, reading, writinge etc that theri dc can do and its making me panic!.

DD1 loves colouring but is still doing random sqiuiggles and can't colour between the lines, although she does like to attempt to draw pictures of animals (which actually bear no resembalnce to animals). I thought the things which she should be learning now werre things like how to get dressed etc ie life skills rather than literacy and numeracy but it seems others think differently!

I don't understand how people can say stuff like 'my child is a genius' in public, unless of course they actually are! It makes me cringe inwardly. My neighbour is always going on about how her daughter is 'soo advanced for her age'. She is a normal bright toddler!

Ds is nearly 3.6Since 3 he has been able to write his name (only three letters) and recognise the letters of the alphabet, all letter sounds and some letter names. He has been recognising numbers since he was about two and a half but only knows them to 20. He is very very verbal. He can only count to twenty and only reliably touch count to 8.He recognises about ten words by rote but can't sound out words yet and can only occasionally recognise the first sounds in words. But his drawing his hopeless, he has no interest at all. He can just about do a face and a person and he will only colour things in red, his favourite colour, regardless of what it is. Can't do jigsaw puzzles, completely hopeless. Still wet overnight. Swings and roundabouts really, and they all level out in the infants by and large.

yeah, don't worry - DD1 is 3.10 can now recognise most letters and a few numbers, can do phonics sounds, but not link them to letters. Is starting to sound out words and identify key sounds - will ask 'what letter does george begin with?' etc. Good on colours and shapes, very verbal, has excellent vocab. Can count objects up to about 10 (on a good day), but it's all a bit hit or miss. She can draw, but would rather scribble...

She can do puzzles fairly well - up to about 30-40 pieces with a small bit of prompting, but does them by matching pictures. She loves imaginative play and is a bit resistant to the performance side of learning (if you ask her to do something, she won't). Crap at dressing, not dry at night...

Her cousin is a few months older, but could recognise all letters by 2 (was strongly encouraged I'd say, not hothoused), and could write her name (5 letters) and read simple words by the time she was the same age as my dd. But my dd is a much more creative thinker so I am sure it will all even out.

Yes, both of mine have been able to. However, the older one (now in Reception) is completely alone in this among his peers (in a v good school in a v aspirational area). And his life would have been easier had he been better at life skills and less good at reading. But that's just the kind of child he is - we didn't hothouse him. The younger one (now aged 2.3) knows all his letters and numbers primarily because the older one insists on teaching him .

Ds whos now 4.2 could recognise all letters and numbers (up to 10) by 2yrs and knew all colours basic shapes by 20 months very verbal (freakily so lol ), and now has been reading basic books since age 3 and a bit , BUT, still cant count reliably to 20 or recognise numbers over 13 , clearly not interested unless its the written word , when people comment on his verbal skills and reading ability , im very happy to state but hes not as advanced with numbers , he also is very messy colouring in but can free write , all children have strengths , im more interested in him being kind ,following the rules ,and listening skills , which i feel he is sometimes lacking ! , but hes happy and enjoys learning whatever his level.

same here LapinDeBois, Ds is reading up to 3 books a day (basic ones ) but cant (i mean wont )get himself dressed unless i help or it would take hours ,but will discuss planets for ages , whilst still sitting in his underpants just before we leave for nursery lol

and yes, DS1 was less able 'academically' at 4 but is very artistic, and now at 7 it is a given at parents evening that he is good at art, which he is actually. Although he never drew anything until the age of 5. Not a thing, then suddenly he was off!

We just laugh at the obvious difference in his ability to write things, with a lavish title , and then draw a picture of it which bears no resemblance to the subject at all , not even a bit , artistic NOT !!!!lol, My friends are great as we are all pretty good at being honest and not being unrealistic about abilities and things some of the kids are not ready or dont want to do yet ,takes the pressure off , and we are very good at politely nodding at the women at nursery who exagerate their pfbs genius abilities

Lol ive just had a vision of Ds at school next year after pe whilst all your children with really good skills are off into the playground with their friends , hell be putting on trousers back to front and shirt done up wrong shoes on wrong feet , mental note to self -- no books in morning until dressed , think i need to get tough

They're just interested in different things IMO. At 2.9 DS1 could read (ie sound out words and recognise loads of sight words enough to read most public signs) and recognise numbers up to 1000. But he couldn't jump with 2 feet, talk to another child or share without a tantrum.

(Disclaimer: I hardly even read to the poor child; he learnt most of his skills from street name signs, shop displays and house numbers while I dragged him along whilst doing boring jobs in town.)

My ds is 2.8. He counts 'one, two, fwee...' & that's it. Doesn't recognise numbers & only one letter, that at the start of his name.

As for drawing/writing, his are just scribbles & he doesn't usually hold pencil properly (& uses either hand).

He can't jump.

He has a fab imagination, though.

I always think he is clever (v biased mum) until I read mn threads. Then I remember that almost all of my Reception children (I was/am a teacher) started not knowing all their numbers and letters. All of them knew all of them by the end of the year. Likewise, some of the children who couldn't read at all at the start of Year 1, were doing so fluently & with expression by the end.

No. He knows some numbers but not all and I would venture not reliably for those he seems to know. I haven't tried him counting to twenty; I don't think he could.

He recognises the letters in his name. When he is 'spelling' he looks at a word, says the letters in his name and then goes 'cloud' or whatever... He can 'hear' words well - I mean if I spell phonetically when talking he will normally get the word right.

His best friend (a girl) could do all letters and numbers (at least, 1-10) aged about 2.7. She goes to a nursery attached to a private school though and they really push literacy & numeracy. She wanted to learn more as a result so her DM carried it on at home. The other week they were teaching the children to trace over the letters in their name.

My DS attends a Montessori, which of course is the polar opposite. They have tools for all that if a child wants to learn, but if the child isn't interested it won't be forced on them.

I wouldn't worry personally - if an interest is shown then build on it.

My dd does when I use counting books and she can point out letters in the alphabet. She can help atbthe shops with picking veg of good quality and bagging the right amount ( 4 carrots, dd) However she can dress and undress herself, use the loo, brush her teeth, dry herself, sort washing and ironing, Lay the table ( sort of) unpack dishwasher ( not sharp stuff) and put away and make fairy cakes etc with me helping and in total confidnence. So her life skills are getting there.

If I push the alphabet and numbers she closes her eyes and snores loudly

so we do baking instead and she helps with measures and weighing which is much more fun for us both tbh. She doesn't go to nursery and I have no plans o send her.

Dd1 knew them all before she was 2yo.Because at about 22 months she decided what she really wanted to do was sit at the computer typing. So she'd ask "write mummy" and I'd say "m for mummy, u for umbrella, m for mummy, m for mummy again and y for yoghurt" pointing to the keys as I said it.She won a story competition when she was about 2.6yo which she did in the same way, about a magic box. One of her older friends was entering and she wanted to be the same, but it was a bit of a surprise to win.By the end of a week she knew all her letters upper and lower case.She knew her numbers from catching the bus at a similar age. However that was because she was interested. She didn't know her colours until she was gone 3yo, for example, because they didn't interest her as much.

However I doubt it has made any difference in the long term. She still (year 7) reads a lot. She does well at English, yes, but she's top group, not top of the top. She did it because she was interested at the time, but it doesn't mean it's taken her above her natural ability. And she would never win a story competition now for creative writing-she probably wouldn't do it because she doesn't particularly enjoy imaginative stories.

Dd2 could sing her alphabet at 2yo. That impressed people. However she was repeating dd1. "elem-no-pea" was a word as far as she was concerned. She hadn't a clue that they were separate letters. Not sure at what point she could recognise all letters, sometime when she was 3yo because they did them at preschool. She's probably slightly better than dd1 at English, or will be when she decided to consistantly write with punctuation rather than a stream of consciousness

I think ds knew his alphabet round about school start time. He's year 1 now and I'm fairly certain he could name them all. But not totally confident. Getting him to write anything other than "Spitfire" "Red Arrows" or "concorde" is a complete disaster. So he knows those letters. I think when/if he decides to bother with writing he will be as good as the other two at English.

So smile nicely at the other parents. Say "that's good". Knowing that half are exaggerating, a quarter are telling blatent fibs, a quarter may be right... but it's not going to matter in the end. And enjoy your time with your child doing the things that you and her like to do.

timeforathink your DS might surprise you. Mine is surprisingly independent except when he's with me - he has no problems getting himself dressed/undressed for swimming and PE. He's still a nightmare to get dressed in the morning, though. Also, I was going to say that I've been really pleased by the supportive attitude of other parents since he started Reception. He's at a small village school, and all the other mums appear to have discovered that he's very bright. But so far I haven't detected a whiff of judgment (though they could all be on here bitching about me, I guess ).

ha! mine were reading whole books before they could properly sit down....

seriously...at 2,9 or even 3,5 for that matter, I would not know why on earth they have to know these things. Nor why I should teach them. School starts at 4/5 which already is very young in my opinion (I did not go to school in the UK, nor did DH and we seem to have learned quickly enough at 6 anyway ). I am all for stimulating but follow cues from what they learn at school. Not the other way round.

My DS could recognise all his alphabet, numbers, shapes (even more complicated ones like hexagon, octagon, parallelogram, efc), and colours. But he has AS so had a pretty amazing memory at that age, although he could barely use proper sentences and was still in nappies so I wouldn't put too much stress on it.

my 2.6 year old knows recognises all the letters and numbers up to about 40 and can count to about 80. I don't push things its just what he's into. However he has no clue about potty training, he can't ride a scooter, can't dress or undress himself (he won't even try) and isn't particularly good at feeding himself either.